


This Lonely Day

by RiYuYami



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: AU Story, Atemu and Yugi are cousins, Canon and non-canon events mixed together, Eventual Relationships, KaibaCorp does more than games in this, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8174773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiYuYami/pseuds/RiYuYami
Summary: After having lived away from it for several years, you decide to move back to your old hometown of Domino City. A day of boredom, and a lack of enthusiasm at work, leads you walking the streets until you find a tacky little place called the Kame Game Shop.Oh what fresh hell are you going to find here.





	1. This Tacky Color Scheme Offends You

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit guys, I’ll level with you, I haven’t written for Yu-Gi-Oh since 2010 and almost all of that shit was terrible. 
> 
> So here we go, six years later, I’m back into my old fandom and I’m gonna give this a try, hopefully it will be better than the shit I wrote when I was a young John. I don't suggest looking for any of that shit, you won't like what you see. Believe me.

The decision to move back to Domino City had come to you one night while you were working late at your office in the states.

You and Mokuba left Japan about six years ago, after you have obtained complete control over your step-father’s company. You needed to get as far away from the city he had dipped his disgusting fingers into for a while and the Kaiba Corp. headquarters in California sounded like a good plan. But lately… you’ve been feeling homesick, though you hated him, you did like your old home. Mokuba was safer there than at the orphanage, and you always protected him.

Your little brother was safe; it was safe to return to Japan, the monster’s been dead for six years.

The next morning at breakfast, when you mentioned this to him, Mokuba got excited and asked when you’d be heading back.

Two weeks later, and you’re back in Domino City, back in the mansion where you had grown up for several years before up and leaving. Mokuba seemed excited, returning to his own room and you to yours. Your staff came with, happy to be back in Japan it seems, the place was well kept by those you hired to keep it clean every so often.

The city itself seemed the same, Kaiba Corp’s tower still stood out amongst the other buildings, the employees there milling about and seemed a bit interested when you strolled in the day after you came back.

You found your father’s old office, still as he had left it, and you practically tore it apart to change it into an office more suited for yourself. It felt so good when you burned his portrait in the backyard of your home with Mokuba at your side.

A month has passed since you’ve come back and its business as usual. It’s slightly different being here than in California, for one, you’re mainly speaking your native tongue again to everyone, minus a few people on the phone who talk to you in English, French, German, or whatever else.

And you’ve found yourself to be… bored as all fuck.

For some reason, you just can’t find yourself to get interested in working on your projects, even back in the states you found yourself in a rut.

You’ve been working on a project for holographic projections, something that has always fascinated you. Ever since you changed the image of Kaiba Corp, from a weapons company to an electronics company that built things for the everyday person instead of ruthless arms dealers (fuck the old man for doing this shit, you were furious when you found out).

Over the past six years, you have developed amazing technology, from computers to phones, to whatever else seem pretty damn interesting for you to stay up late and draw blueprints for. But right now… well… you’re stuck in a rut.

And it annoys the hell out of you.

You rarely get hit with shit like this, and it usually passes after a few days, but almost two months? Uncalled for! You’re Seto Kaiba, you shouldn’t deal with shit like this!

But you digress, maybe you need to take a little break from overworking.

With a sigh, you spin around in your chair, away from your desk to look out the windows of the city below. You’ve given it thought before, when you drove from the airport to the mansion, that… maybe you should explore the city, see what’s changed in the past six years. You don’t know if anyone here will recognize you if you were to wander the streets.

To be honest with yourself, you don’t… really look unusual? You are rather tall though, over six feet, but you look average. Blue eyes, brown hair, if it wasn’t for your Japanese features and such, you would have looked like some average shmuck when you and Mokuba lived in Los Angeles.

Maybe here you will blend in with the other citizens of the town, wander the town without people knowing your name.

Kaiba is a well-known name, obviously, but do people here even know what you look like? You try not to make your face known, but there are probably photos of you online. You might get noticed, but that’s a risk you’re willing to take to keep yourself occupied for a few hours.

It’s decided, tomorrow, you’re going to hit the town.

\--

“Are you seriously doing this, Seto?”  
  
You glance over your shoulder as you button up your shirt, sure, you’re going out into the city and not in your usual business attire, but… hey, you’re a man who likes to dress nice! Even though you are half tempted to wear that dark blue coat you bought a while ago… no, too flashy.

Mokuba is sitting on your bed, dressing his school uniform, giving you a quizzical look. “Yes, Mokuba, for the hundredth time. Why does this seem so strange to you?”

He snorts, leaning back on his hands. “Oh… I dunno, maybe it’s the fact that when I wanted to take you anywhere in L.A. that wasn’t business related, you always moaned and groaned. Then I had to bring out the puppy eyes.”

Oh, he’s got his snark going this early in the morning. Nice.

“Look Mokuba, I am bored out of my skull and I want to spend the day wasting my life around with the common folk.”

“Instead of wasting time in the office and berating yourself for not being productive with your works in progress?”

He’s on a roll today.

“Yes, now don’t you need to get to school?” You said, turning to face your little brother, tapping your watch.

Mokuba looks at his own and gasps. “Crap! You’re right, I’ll see you later! Call me if anything happens!” He says as he jumps off the bed, running up to you to give you a quick hug. Then he’s out the door and running down the hall, yelling for Hobson to start the car.

You roll your eyes, smiling a little to yourself. That kid is just too damn good for this world.

With a sigh, you roll up your sleeves and look yourself over. Dark pants, dark green shirt… your hair is combed like normal… you look casual enough, no one would know that you own one of the biggest companies in the world right now.

Well, with that, you make your way to the garage, Isono is waiting there with a mug of coffee for you. You thank him, taking both the coffee and the set of keys he is holding for you, and head to your personal car.

Oh, you’ve got several, but you like your white Ferrari with blue details added to it. It’s your pride and joy, your baby.

No one needs to know about that.

Getting in, you set down your coffee and start it up. Isono is nice enough to open the doors to the garage for you and you drive out, heading for Domino City. You get there in no time, the morning is still young, traffic isn’t too bad.

You drive into town every day to get to work, but today, instead of your usual streets, you take a different route. From what you see as you drive around, not a whole lot has changed, there are some new shops, others are still the same, some are completely gone.

New buildings, new looks, lots of people are out walking the streets to get to work or just to enjoy the day. It’s… not bad, just not as busy as you had hoped. Hm, maybe a weekday wasn’t the best time to do this.

Ah, who cares, you practically have the city to yourself this way, all for Seto.

After thirty minutes of just driving around, and having finished your coffee, you decide to find a public parking lot downtown and park there. Time to explore, you guess.

You lock up your car, it’s got a special security system to it that you developed, if anyone tries to get in, you’re alerted on your phone and you can make shit happen from wherever you are. You love being so good with technology, you really do.

After leaving your car, you take a stroll around the streets and downtown shops. It’s not too bad, the weather is nice, not too hot, not too cold, and shops are open and ready for people to come in and take a look at their fares.

It’s nice, but… you’re still really, fucking bored.

You sigh loudly and continue to walk around, spending forty minutes passing by shops and people, no one giving you much attention outside of trying to pass you, or kindly old people saying good morning. You are half tempted to just turn around and return home to screw around on your computers, when a store catches your eye.

The first thing you notice about it is that it’s painted… bright. Like it just wants to scream into your face for you to stare at its ugly color scheme. There is a sign right by the door, with a picture of a turtle on it, that reads ‘KAME GAME SHOP’.

Well holy shit, you wouldn’t know it was a game shop! Even though right above the door, in big letters, is the word GAME in English.

You roll your eyes so hard that you swear they’d pop right out.

Well… might as well check it out, you’ve got nothing better to do with your day anyway. And hey, you like games, maybe they might have something you’ll like!

Only one way to find out…

You open the door and hear an annoying bell chime above you, of fucking course. Inside of the shop are games, lots of games, all sorts. Board games, puzzle games, video games, dice, role playing, hell, even card games.

The color scheme is just as bright as the outside, maybe even more so, and there is only one person in here with you.

At the counter is a guy, not even giving you the time of day it seems. He’s darker in skin tone than you (which isn’t even an impressive feat, you’re very pale from lack of venturing outside often), but it’s obvious that he could be from somewhere else. His hair is the most shocking thing you’ve ever seen, and you lived in L.A. with phonies and the like.

It’s weird, black at the roots and rising up to end in red tips in a strange hand-or-star-pattern, with blond bangs obscuring most of his face, the rest of it seems to be hidden in the book he’s looking at. Only when you close the door a little louder than you intended does he look up at you.

Wow, that’s a weird eye color, and a shit ton of eyeliner.

The guy blinks and looks a bit startled at you before he shuts the book and sets it aside, trying to make himself look presentable and professional, neither of which he is. “Good morning, welcome to the Kame Game shop, let me know if you need any help finding anything.” His voice is rather deep, huh, not that you should talk.

“Sure.” You say before glancing around. You’re going to assume that you’re the only person to walk into the shop since it opened, since he seems so surprised to see a potential customer. Maybe you’ll humor this guy and get something, who knows.

Your attention moves towards the cards and you make your way there. You’re a fan of Duel Monsters, though you hate the man who created them. You have a partnership with Pegasus J. Crawford, mainly because he is interested in your computer game systems, he’d love to make his game an online one as well.

You’re in the process of making that possible, but also, he wants to see what you can do for his game with your work-in-progress hologram technology. Screw him, what you do with it is your own business, even if you are interested in making some of those cards into pretty awesome looking holograms. Maybe for Mokuba’s birthday.

As you look at the Dual Monster card packs, you feel a set of eyes on your back and you glance over, seeing the employee staring at you. “It’s rude to stare at people.” You tell him, frowning.

“Sorry, it’s just that… you’re the first customer of the day.” You knew it. “And I want to make sure you have a good shopping experience.”

“Heh.” You smirk at him and grab two booster packs, approaching the counter with them. “Alright, then I’ll buy these from you today.”  
  
He nods, ringing them up and you pay for them, he doesn’t even bother to look at your card for your name before he hands it back. “There you go, have a nice day.” He says but you just stand there, picking up a pack and opening it. “Uhh… what are you doing?”

“I dunno, keeping you company I guess. You’ve been open for, like, what, two hours now? And I’m the only person to come in so far? You’ve got to be lonely.” You reply as you pull out the cards, looking through them. You have a few of these already, meh.

“Well, uh, that’s nice of you, I guess.” The guy seems rather confused at your behavior as he looks up at you, huh, he’s short. You honestly thought he had been sitting on a stool or something, but he’s… short.

He sighs and picks up his book, turning it in his hands a bit. “Yeah, I suppose I am. I’m the only one running the shop until my grandfather wakes up for his shift. And I don’t want to bother my cousin, he’s busy with his friends and classes.”

“Then I’ll stick around, I’ve got nothing to do today anyway.” You say as you open up the next pack, looking at your cards. “Hm, I got a Summon Skull, huh, don’t have that card.”

This seems to catch his attention. “That’s a good card, I have one of those in my deck.”

“You play as well?”

He smirks. “Of course, I’m a game expert, and the best at this game. I’ve never lost.”

You can’t help but smirk yourself. “Oh really? You’ve never lost? Well same here, in fact, I’m probably the best in the world.” Of course you are, you’ve won so many tournaments that you’re practically unstoppable.

“Alright, let’s play then. Do you have your deck on you?”

Okay, you do, but it’s out of habit. You often had it on you to play with Mokuba cause he adores the game, and sometimes Pegasus liked to challenge you during meetings just to get a rise out of you. Especially when he plays that horrible Toon Town card of his, uhg.

You have a deck box on your belt, with your phone. You hold up the deck after you pull it from the box and the guy seems excited. He pulls out a deck from under the counter and then grabs playing mats for the two of you. “Need a chair?” He asks as he sets the mats on the counter.

When you nod, he walks to the door behind him and opens it, huh, looks like it leads into a house of sorts. Guess he lives here? He grabs something from near the doorway and walks back in with a stool, approaching you with it.

You take it and sit down on it in front of the counter, he pulls up a stool from under his side of it, sitting down. You shuffle each other’s decks and set them down. “Normal rules for this, not tournament ones? No needing to sacrifice monsters to summon higher level ones, two thousand life points?”

“You mean the basic shit?” You ask, but you shrug. “Sure, why not, I haven’t played those rules in ages.”

“Wonderful.” He replied before looking at you. “I’m Atemu, by the way.”

“I’m Seto.” You say, raising an eyebrow. “Atemu?”

He scoffs. “Yes, I know, strange name. My mother named me, she was Egyptian, my father was Japanese.”

You take note of the way he says ‘was’, but you don’t question. Well, that explains his complexion, and some of his features, though it is obvious that he is mixed with Japanese. You draw your cards and the two of you begin to play.

“So, what made you want to come into the shop?” Atemu asks as he sets down a card.

“Curiosity, your shop’s color scheme burns my eyes.” You set down your own, then a face down card in the spell and trap section.

He snorts. “Yes, it is a bit… bright, but it draws your attention. Also, like you’re one to talk, the colors you’re wearing look dumb. I’m attacking.” He says, your face down defense card is in the graveyard now.

“Oh please, don’t talk to me about fashion, what are you even wearing? A dog collar and those wrist cuffs? You secretly into BDSM?”

Atemu chuckles a little, you take out his card, he tosses it aside before he goes to set down more cards on his turn. “Nah, just my odd taste in fashion. Oh, and before you ask, this is a family look, and I think I make it look good. It’s natural.” He gestures to his hair.

You actual let out a small laugh at that. “Seriously, there is no way that your hair is natural like that.” You activate a trap; he huffs at that. Or maybe it was about his hair, who cares.

“No, it’s real, but the styling is all me.” The game continues, with minor bickering about your different senses of style. He seems to find it hilarious that you like trench coats, but you also like suits. You tell him he is a huge nerd for thinking that skinny jeans are still in style.

You soon get down to your last few hundred life points each and it’s his turn. “Oh dear.” Atemu seems to tisk as he looks at his hand. “How sad that this match has to end so soon.”

“You’re bluffing.” You have more life points than him, and you have a higher power monster on the field.

“Nope.” Atemu sets down a Black Magician and a spell card to boost the card’s attack for one turn, destroying your monster, and the rest of your life points. “I win.”

You blink, staring at the cards. What the… that little shit beat you like it was nothing?!

“I want a rematch.”

The other pauses in cleaning up his cards, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously? Heh, come on man, we weren’t really taking that game seriously, yeah?” The look on your face must prove that wrong, cause he looks weirdly at you. “You took that match seriously?”

“I always take challenges seriously, Atemu.”

“Heh, holy shit. Okay, how about this… tomorrow, you stop by here at noon and we’ll go have a rematch at a café or something, I dunno. I’m not working, but my grandfather is and we can’t play in the store. Nor can we play upstairs, my aunt doesn’t like unexpected guests or whatever. So yeah, come back tomorrow for a rematch, and I’ll take it seriously this time.”

Oooh, that pisses you off, you lost to a guy who was just playing around and he still won!

“Alright.” You say as you pick up your cards. “I’ll be back at noon and I’ll bring my best deck for you.”

Atemu smirks. “Sure, then I’ll bring my best deck. And we’ll play with tournament rules, does that sound good to you?”

“It’s a date.” You huff, putting your deck away before standing up, heading for the door. “Be ready, Atemu.”

“I always am.” He says as he winks at you, and you bristle. Ooooh… he’s already starting to get under your skin, you like when an opponent can give you a challenge even before the match.

With that, you head out the door, looking over your shoulder at him for a moment. Atemu gives you a small wave, his face smug as fall get out.

Oh yeah, you’re kicking his ass tomorrow, no doubt about it.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we go, the first chapter to hopefully the one Yu-Gi-Oh story I’ll actually like and not be embarrassed about. 
> 
> Wow, I am rusty, I had to look up Isono and Hobson’s names, and also, I’m one of those fans who writes the pharaoh’s name as Atemu, so… yeah, sorry if that bothers anyone. I’m just going with how his name in hieroglyphs is actually spelt.
> 
> But anyway, more characters to come, some shit with Duel Monsters will be seen, I’ll mix English and Japanese names for the cards cause I’m lazy as shit about looking them up, yada-yada-yada.
> 
> PS. My sister suggested this as a title for the fic: Kaiba: Lord Bootysmasher of the 7th Dimension
> 
> I wish this was a dumb enough fic to name it that, I really do.


	2. Cafe Exodia

You decided to take Atemu up on that offer, coming to the shop at the exact time he had been given. Atemu is there, sitting on a chair in the shop, a black deck box in his hands, glancing at you when you enter. “Wow, right on time!” He happily comments, getting a laugh from someone else in the shop.

This catches your attention for a moment. At the counter stands an older, shorter man, who looks somewhat like Atemu, writing something down in a binder, probably doing inventory. He looks up and happily greets you.  
  
“Hm.” You reply before looking at Atemu, the smirk on this boy's face made you want to slap it off. “Are you ready or not? I want to get this over with.”

“My, my, why are you in such a hurry?” Atemu rolls his eyes, approaching you after attaching his box to one of the two belts he wore around his slim waist. “Are you that happy to have me kick your ass again?”

“Can it, Atemu, this time I'll win.” You scoff, heading out the door.

Atemu laughs before following you. “We'll see about that. See ya later, Gramps! I've got my phone, tell Aibou I'm going to duel someone!”  
  
“Be back by dinner time if you're going to be out late.” The old man calls back at him before the door closes behind you and Atemu.

You stare down at the smaller man, huh, you've got at least a good foot on this guy. “So, where are we dueling?” You ask, watching him straighten out his clothes. Once again, you see the collar and studded cuffs on his wrists, but he's dressed in a red tank top and... are those leather pants?

What the hell? And to think, just yesterday, he mocked you for liking to wear trench coats in public. He looks like a he's going to a rave instead of going to duel someone.

“I suggested a cafe, there's one not far from here. Just two blocks away, it's really nice. Come on, we can do it there! I've got a friend who is working there today, maybe he can watch.”

You'd rather no one watch, but... whatever, it's not like you can just suggest the two of you go to Kaiba Land and duel there in one of the game rooms. He might be suspicious of that. Best to not let a man you only just met figure you out.

But considering the deck your brought with you today... well... nah, you want to surprise him, wipe that snarky smirk of his face.

“I guess that will work.” You reply, though you try to sound like it's an annoyance to you. He doesn't buy it for a second. “So, tell me about yourself, I only know that you're working at that game store and your name is Atemu. And also, you're probably not from here.”

Atemu chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I'm from Egypt, but I'm both a citizen of there and here, so don't worry your pretty head about that. I dunno what there is to tell you, I don't get out much, don't really... socialize much. But I love games, I grew up with them and have a natural skill. I love learning about ancient history, obviously I'm a fan of my mother's side's history, considering I'm apparently from a direct bloodline to an ancient pharaoh.”

“Bullshit.”

“It's true!” He huffs, giving you a look, you just smirk at him. “Anyway, smartass, I'm also working on my degree in archaeology. I plan to move back home when I'm done with college, I want to study tombs in the Valley of the Kings, like my grandfather use to do. He's the man running the shop today, if you didn't figure that out.”

You just nod, walking with him. “I live with him, my aunt, and my cousin Yugi, he's my best friend, really sweet kid, he's good with games too.”

“I guess when you live in a game shop, you kind of have to be.” You comment, earning a laugh from him. He asks you to tell him about yourself and you frown. “There's not much to say.”

“Oh come on, tell me a little something! Doesn't have to be much!”

You sigh loudly, rolling your eyes. “I'm the owner of my own business, I enjoy games as well, I have a little brother who is in school still. I finished college when I was suppose to be in high school, but I was home schooled for a majority of my childhood so I never went to public school. I also just moved back here from living in the states for a few years.”

Atemu blinks and gives a nod before moving to go into a shop. You follow him inside before taking a seat with him at a table, away from pretty much everyone else in the cafe. “Want me to order us something? My treat.”

“Just a black coffee, please.” He snorts, commenting that you should put something in it. “Nope, I like it black, the same color and bitterness as my heart.”

He laughs and heads to the counter. You watch him leave, wanting to slap yourself for agreeing to do this. This is stupid, why are you hanging out with a guy you just met? Oh, right, to protect your pride as a master gamer and duel his little, punk ass. You place your deck box on the table, patently waiting for him to return.

It doesn't take Atemu long to come back with a venti black coffee for you, and a venti frappe for himself. Considering the golden orange nonsense on the whipped cream of his drink, he got caramel, your brother loves that shit. “Ready for a rematch?” He asks, smiling at you.

You want to slap that smile off his face. “Yes. What rules are we doing this time?”

“Same as before.”

“Will you take this seriously?”

“Yes, actually.” Atemu removes his cards from his box, setting them on the table. No mats this time, but you both know the dueling field by heart, probably. This is fine.

You shuffle his cards, and he does the same for you, before you begin. The duel goes fine, you take him on with your combination of Saggi the Dark Clown and Dark Energy cards, having him on the run. He's not bad when he's serious, hell, he's great when he's playing for fun, but you like this, you like him struggling.

He beats Saggi, and you can't help but to play your favorite monster just moments later. The look of shock on his face is beautiful, you love it when your enemies realize who they're facing.

“A... Blue Eyes White Dragon...” He says quietly, staring at the card with wide eyes. “Wait, are you... hahaha!” He leans back, running a hand through his hair. “Holy shit, I can't believe this.” He mumbles something in another language, Arabic maybe?

“This is... wow, never in my years as a duelist did I ever think I'd duel you, Seto Kaiba.” You smirk at your name. “This is a dream come true, you're, like, an idol to me when it comes to Duel Monsters.” The look on his face is one you've seen before, back when you use to let people see your face when you were younger, but there is something... more to it.

“I'm glad to see that you're a fan of mine, but...” You destroy his monster with your card and the duel continues.

Eventually you summon all three of your dragons and he is down to a Black Magician, which you destroy. “You're a pretty good duelist, Atemu, but I doubt you have something in your deck that can take on my dragons.”

Atemu looks at you before drawing his next card. The smirk on his face makes you wonder what he's got up his sleeve. He's got no cards on the field and you doubt that anything in his hand will save him.

“I have something in my deck, something I've never gotten a chance to use in a duel before, not even for fun.” He removes five cards from his hand, placing them on the field in a specific order and...

“I summon all five parts of Exodia the Forbidden One.” He smiles and you just sit there, staring at the cards on the table. “I think this means I automatically win.”

“... You... you have all five cards of Exodia.” You stammer out, something you never do. He caught you completely off guard with his cards. You've never seen any parts of Exodia before in real life! Even Pegasus doesn't have those cards, he gave them away to the winner of his Duelist Kingdom tournament!

You stand up, staring down at him. “How the fuck did you get those cards, Atemu? Those went to the winner of Duelist Kingdom as the grand prize if the winner gave Pegasus-”

“The card 'Honor of the King's Left Hand', I know.” Atemu sighs, putting his deck away. “Sit down, you're catching people's attention.”

Sitting down, you glare at him. “Explain.”

“Look... I don't like saying this, but I'm the winner of Duelist Kingdom.”

“His name is Yugi Mutou, not Atemu.”

Atemu sighs again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “My name is Atemu Mutou, Yugi Mutou is my cousin. I took his name during the tournament because I'm... not exactly good at expressing myself, and he was totally willing to let me take his name for it because we use to do silly swap things as kids, he looks almost identical to me. Yugi didn't want to duel either, he didn't feel like he was good enough to go against champions, and I honestly believe he's a better duelist.”

“So when Yugi won a big tournament here, he got an invite and begged me to go because I'm more confident apparently? Well, I guess that's true, Aibou is so much shyer that I am. We look so much alike that people didn't even realize I wasn't him. Pegasus found out, but he didn't care, he liked it, thought it was funny. Said it reminded him of something from some cartoon he watched.”

He plays with the straw of his drink as he continues to talk to you. “Luckily my face was never seen because when they showed the games online or whatever, it just showed the gaming field and the cards. Most people don't know what Yugi and I look like, but people at our high school did. Luckily, people never knew I played and Yugi took the credit, I didn't want it, I like being... more of a shadow than being out there when I game.”

“That's stupid, just take the credit. You beat the creator of the game.” You say. “I'm surprised by how you won, Kuriboh and Magician of Black Chaos, heh, what the hell?”

Atemu looks rather bashful at this. “Games are based on chance, anything can happen to give a good or bad outcome.”

“Heh, you seemed so shocked to meet me, but I'm shocked to meet you, Mr. King of Games.” You lean back, picking up your cup of coffee to take a drink. “I've only beaten Pegasus once, by the damn skin of my teeth, and it was without him using his stupid toon cards, he fought me with his Restrict cards.”

“That's what he did with me after I destroyed Toon World. Used Living Arrow and one of his own cards against him, along with a combination of Mirror Force and his own attack against him.”

“I saw the play by play when it was happening. I wish they had shown the duel on TV or something, rather than just internet updates. Must have been a hell of a duel.”

Atemu nods, smiling at you. “It was, I honestly thought I was going to lose when he played that damn fusion, but Kuriboh and Multiply saved me. Pegasus was shocked that I even used such a combo.”

“You have Kuriboh in your deck, I think people are shocked that you even use that puny thing.”

“Says the guy who only has one monster under one thousand attack in his deck.” He smirks, sipping his drink again. “Want a rematch?”

You shake your head. “No. As much as I would love to duel you again, I know you have Exodia and I don't think that's a fair fight.”

He gives you a look, frowning. “You have three of the four Blue Eyes White Dragons in your deck, and I'm sure you're the owner of their fusion. How is that not a fair fight for me if I take Exodia out?”

“Because Exodia is an automatic win, and besides, you're smart, you'll have other monsters you can try to use against me.”

“That I do, if I change up my deck a bit.”

“Atemu!”

You and Atemu both look over, seeing a man with shaggy, blond hair making his way over, looking excited. “Hey man, I didn't know you were comin' in today!” He says, stopping at your table. Judging by the apron he's wearing, he must work here. Uhg, this must be Atemu's friend.

“Hey Jounouchi,” Atemu greets him, “you just missed the duel. I finally used my ultimate combo.”

“W-what?!” He exclaims, looking so annoyed. “No way! How'd I miss such an epic event!”

“Cause you were late for work again?”

“That's besides the point.”

Jounouchi? As in Katsuya Jounouchi, the runner up of Duelist Kingdom? You look him up and down, and... yeah, you can see how this guy won the tournament on sheer, dumb luck. He doesn't look like he knows what he's doing 80 percent of the time.

He glances at you, raising an eyebrow. “Uhhh... who are you and why are ya lookin' at me with such a weird, calculating stare...?”

“Seto. And I'm looking at you because I'm trying to figure out how a guy like you could come in second in the biggest Duel Monsters tournament in the world.” You reply, smirking, ignoring the small kick Atemu gave you.

“Hey! That sounds like an insult.” Jounouchi pouts. “Atemu, buddy, is this the guy you just beat?”

“Yes,” Atemu nods, “and you might want to watch what you say, Jounouchi, he's a really good duelist. He might kick your ass next.”

“I'd love to, if this loser has his deck.” You say, still keeping your smirk on your face. “But then again, you're nothing compared to me. Come back when you've collected ten thousand cards.”

This sets him off. “W-why you?! How about I just punch you in that smug face of yours right now!?”

Atemu grabs him by the shirt, making him sit down in the booth seat with him. “Jounouchi, stop. Seriously, that guy is pretty damn powerful, deck wise and status wise. You really don't want to pick a fight with him...”

“Why not? I can take 'em.”

You glare at the blond. “Listen to Atemu, mutt. I'm seriously someone you don't want to fuck around with. In time you'll come to heed that warning, but for now, I really should get going.” You put your deck back into its box before standing up. You hold out a hand to Atemu, who takes it a moment later. “Next time we duel, I will beat you, and I will be the new King of Games.”

Atemu smirks, giving you a challenging look. “Until then, Seto. Good luck trying to beat me.”

You give a nod, grab your coffee, and make your way out of the cafe with a small salute to him. He waves at you before going to speak with his stupid friend.

–

“So... you wanna explain to me what that was all about, Atemu?” Jounouchi asks you once you see Kaiba step outside.

With a loud sigh, you lean back against your seat. “He's a guy who came into the shop yesterday out of boredom and we dueled. He got mad that I beat him while not taking the game seriously and challenged me to a rematch. I accepted and we dueled here today.”

“And you beat him with those cards you got from Pegasus?”

You nod, scratching your head a little. “Yeah, he was really shocked. Told him who I was, I don't know if he really believes me, but... I have the proof in my deck.” You still can't get over the fact that you actually just had a duel, no, two duels, with the one and only Seto Kaiba. He's a Duel Monsters legend, hell, he's well known amongst gamers of all fields.

You're good at games yourself, you've played against powerful opponents before, but... there is something about this guy, he's like a goal you never knew you had set up for yourself. You want to play him again, you want to see that look in his eyes, the passion of gaming, the need to prove oneself that they are the best.

You never get that from people you play games with anymore, well, outside of Yugi and Grandpa, but those two are like you, so it's different.

A hand waves in front of your eyes and you snap back to reality. “Yo, Atemu, where'd ya go just now?” Jounouchi asks.

“O-oh, sorry, I spaced out for a moment, heh.” You sip your coffee, feeling really awkward right now. “Don't you need to start your shift?”

“Oh shit!” He winces at his watch. “You're right, okay, talk to you later, Atemu! We still on for game and movie night tonight?”

You smile, nodding. “Of course we are, have fun at work, Jounouchi.” You stand up, getting your drink off the table. You move to head for the door, glancing back to see if your friend was looking. He wasn't, you slip out the door and walk down the street.

In your hand, the one that had shaken Kaiba's, you look at the card he had carefully given you without Jounouchi seeing. It was a business card, white in color, the silver lettering of the Kaiba Corp. logo at the top, under it was Kaiba's name and his number. Actually, it was his work one, but it had been crossed out and in neat writing, a different number.

A personal phone number?

The most powerful man in Japan, and possibly most of the world, just gave you a phone number.

You swear your heart just skipped a beat.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Atemu has a huge crush on Kaiba from the get go, before even knowing what he looks like. So dueling your crush is a bit of a shock, especially when you beat said crush, who happens to be the number one duelist in the world that isn't you.
> 
> Next chapter: Game and movie night, and Atemu wonders if he can see Kaiba again.


End file.
